A list of notable quotes in 2012

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By:StaffThe Canadian Press Published on

A list, in chronological order, of some of the notable quotes from Canadian news events in 2012:

"If the NDP actually has any information, we challenge those members to give that information to the authorities. We have yet to see it and no reason to believe them." — Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the House of Commons on Feb. 28 in response to a question from New Democrat interim leader Nycole Turmel about the so-called robocalls affair.

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"Our future is limitless if we get our priorities right." — Newly elected NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, speaking after he won the leadership in Toronto on March 24.

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"It's not been easy, but he'll be fine, thank you very much and be nice to my dogs." — Barbara Amiel, speaking to reporters just hours after greeting Conrad Black at his Toronto home on May 4 following his release from a Florida prison where he served time for fraud and obstruction of justice charges.

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"I need a bonus for this." — Kelly, a handywoman who didn't want her last name used as she contemplated the prospect of cleaning a blood-spattered Montreal apartment on May 30 that was rented by alleged murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta and where police believe atrocious acts took place.

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"It's time for people to wake up and stop loafing about. It's lasted long enough. We heard them. We listened. They should stop. It's costing the city a fortune. It makes no sense." — Race-car driver Jacques Villeneuve on June 7 ripping into Quebec student protesters who he also called "rebels without a cause."

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"It was almost like a little mini earthquake, like a big bang, and then gone. There was nothing there. Everything started to cave in, water was pouring out of the pipes." — Heather Richer, who owned a restaurant in the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., and was at work when the roof collapse occurred on June 23.

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"If Alberta doesn't sit down and talk about it, the project can't go ahead. It's as simple as that." — B.C. Premier Christy Clark in a July 24 interview with The Canadian Press after the province issued its five conditions before B.C. will consider supporting Enbridge's Northern Gateway project.

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"We feel like we didn't lose, we feel like it was taken from us. It's a shame in a game like that that was so important, the ref decided the result before it started." — Captain Christine Sinclair says officials robbed Canadian women's team of a semifinal win over the United States at the Summer Olympics on Aug. 6.

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"TPS meant Taxe Pour Surprenant. At the time, it was one per cent of the value of the work." — Ex-construction boss Lino Zambito testifying on Oct. 1 at the Charbonneau Commission that former City of Montreal official Gilles Surprenant skimmed one per cent off contracts for himself. 'TPS' is the French-language acronym for the federal sales tax.

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"I am proud of having gone through the terribly difficult process of being falsely charged, falsely convicted and ultimately almost completely vindicated without losing my mind, becoming irrational, ceasing to be a penitent and reasonable person and actually being able to endure a discussion like this without getting up and smashing your face in, which is what most people would do if they had been through what I have been." — Conrad Black to Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman during an interview on British TV in October.

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"I thought it wasn't going to be that big of a deal, but I found it to be pretty emotional to be there with her and my family and my extended family, and it reinforced for me what those things in life are in terms of the most important: family, friends." — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty insisting on Oct. 15 that it wasn't the controversy over the gas plants that prompted his sudden resignation, but rather his daughter's recent wedding as a time where he realized it was time for the party to renew itself.

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"It gave me a taste of what travelling is going to be like. Are people sitting around me thinking I'm the crazy Air Canada lady?" — Maygan Sensenberger, who pleaded guilty to causing a disturbance on an Air Canada flight she took in August with her husband, Liberal Sen. Rod Zimmer. She was commenting in October on the fact that her face was splashed on TV and total strangers were snapping cellphone photos as she sat in an airport departure lounge.

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"I was astounded the more I heard about it, I just thought, 'How in the name of God did anyone miss all of this?' Well, the answer may be in the fact that security is just ridiculous. It's Swiss cheese." — Mike Taylor, lawyer for Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle, speaking on Oct. 24 after his client pleaded guilty to espionage charges.

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"I want to say this is for all the haters who thought I was just here for one or two years. I feel like I'm going to be here for a very long time." — Justin Bieber after winning American Music Award for favourite pop/rock male on Nov. 18.

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"Am I unhappy about the prospect? You bet I am. It's absolutely something that torments me. But by the same token I have a long-term responsibility to this game and to the fans of the game to make sure we have a healthy product. Too many people are forgetting where we were 10 years ago. And the fact is we didn't have a healthy game, and we had too many franchises that couldn't continue. We did what we had to do in 2004 to make it right, and we're focused with our owners on what we need to make this game healthy for our fans." — Commissioner Gary Bettman is asked on Dec. 6 how he could justify cancelling another NHL season.

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"This stuff is getting ridiculous, (losing) all these games. I'm here to play hockey, I'm not here to negotiate. I support the players. I witnessed how hard guys worked and how bad they want this to work.

"But to see this happen, it's terrible. It makes everyone look bad." — Hockey star Sidney Crosby comments on the state of the labour situation after talks broke down on Dec. 6.

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"The most important benefit of this development is that it allows us as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to stand tall and proud on the national stage, knowing that as our forebears persevered to etch an existence on the edge of the North Atlantic, so will we with unrelenting focus and steadfast determination overcome all obstacles and transform challenges into success." — Premier Kathy Dunderdale of Newfoundland and Labrador on Dec. 17 after giving final approval to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.

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"I ask you to imagine how you would feel, put yourself in the shoes of one of the missing and murdered women and think how it would feel if you were dismissed, considered unworthy of attention by the majority of the people in your city. What if you were made to feel invisible, unworthy?" — former B.C. Court of Appeal judge Wally Oppal, who led B.C.'s inquiry into the Robert Pickton serial murder case, upon the release of his report on Dec. 17.

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“Darwin is not a dog, he's not a cat, he's not a lizard. He's 93 per cent human DNA. ... If you go to visit him as a five-year-old child, if you do have a child, how would you feel to see your child behind a cage and be with him outside the cage to say, 'Oh, your mommy and daddy is here' ... yet you cannot cuddle.” — Husband of Yasmin Nakhuda, who identified himself only as Sam, on Dec. 21 after a judge in Oshawa, Ont., denied them temporary custody of a monkey named Darwin while they fight in court to get him back from the primate sanctuary where he was taken after being found wandering an Ikea parking lot wearing a shearling coat.